WEBB CITY, Mo. — A valiant effort wasn’t enough for the Webb City Cardinals.
Webb City’s late rally fell short, and Class 6 No. 6 Republic left town with a 63-50 Central Ozark Conference victory over the hosts on Friday night in front of a large homecoming crowd inside the Cardinal Dome.
After a close first half, the Tigers doubled up the Cardinals 18-9 in the game-changing third quarter.
Webb City used a spirited surge in the fourth quarter to pull within eight, but Republic stymied the comeback attempt down the stretch.
“I was happy with our effort,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We had a slow start, but we bounced back after that start, and we gave ourselves a chance. Our kids competed well. We just needed to finish a few more plays to give ourselves a better chance against a good team like Republic.”
Webb City slipped to 15-7 overall and 2-4 in conference games.
Junior guard Barron Duda scored 14 points for the Cardinals, while senior forward Alex Martin added 12 points before fouling out.
Sophomore guard Holton Keith contributed nine points, six assists and three steals, while junior guard Omari Jackson added seven points. Joe Adams and Eli Pace chipped in four points apiece.
Webb City shot 49 percent from the floor (20-of-41) but went just 2-for-8 on 3-pointers.
Republic improved to 20-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
Sophomore guard Brenley Hagewood led the Tigers with 23 points, while senior guard Ahlante Askew added 10 points and junior guard James Rexroat had nine.
The Tigers made 20-of-35 field goal attempts (57 percent), including 6-for-15 from beyond the arc (40 percent). Republic out-rebounded Webb City 27-11.
The Tigers, who never trailed, built an early double-digit lead at 17-7 by the end of the first quarter.
Webb City was down 23-9 early in the second period, but the Cardinals finished the first half on an 18-7 burst.
Duda, Keith, Jackson and Martin all contributed points during the spurt. Duda knocked down three late free throws to cut Webb City’s deficit to 30-27 at intermission.
The Tigers owned the third quarter.
Republic started the second half on a 17-3 run to take a 47-30 lead. The Tigers led 48-36 at the end of the third period.
“We had some really good looks and we ran our sets well, but we just didn’t capitalize in the third quarter,” Horn said. “We missed a couple bunnies around the basket. Republic got the ball to their shooters. I thought we guarded the 3-point line better than we did on Tuesday, but Republic hit a couple that allowed them to stretch their lead. They got us out of sorts a little bit, too.”
The Cardinals didn’t go down quietly.
With an 8-4 spurt to start the final frame, capped by a hoop inside by Martin and a layup from Pace, Webb City pulled within eight at 52-44.
That’s the closest the hosts would get, however.
The Tigers finished the game on an 11-6 run to secure the win.
“I don’t think we capitalized on some things offensively when we had good looks,” Horn said. “I thought Republic did. We showed resolve and fought back late in the game, so I’m pleased with the effort. We just have to put four quarters together.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City is at Joplin on Tuesday night for another COC contest.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
